Kig-Yar
The Kig Yar (Perosus iantrunculus), also known as 'Jackals' are a species of avian/reptialian bipeds that originate from the moon Eayn, which orbits the gas giant Chu'ot (HD 69830 c). They are a species that practices and honors the traditions of commerce, trading, and indeed, even piracy. For a time, the Kig Yar were a client race of the Covenant Empire. For hundreds of years, the Kig Yar were considered one of the fiercer species in the Covenant with their harsh reptilian visage, strength while carrying heavy weapons all over the battlefield, and their appetite to strike a bargain when it most suited them. However, after the collapse of the greater Covenant Empire in 2553, the Kig Yar's neutrality was much more apparent. They are perfectly willing to work with other races provided that the price is right. However, it is advisable to watch your pockets around the Kig Yar, as they are capable pickpockets, and even slicker talkers. Within the Covenant military, Kig Yar are valued as snipers, trackers, and scouts due to their excellent sense of smell and their high rate of prey location. Among the Jackals, there are multiple subspecies that can vary in appearance. One of the most numerous are Skirmishers, which retains more of the Kig Yar's avian ancestry, while another subspecies of Kig Yar, the Ka-Shes, show a different path of evolution more geared towards a fish-eating diet with large jaws and the lack of a beak. Many other groups live on Eayn, while mainly the standard Kig Yar is seen in large numbers over Known Space. Anatomy & Physiology The general consensus is that the Kig-Yar are based from an avian species that prowled Eayn's skies millions of years ago. During this time on the primordial moon, this species may not have achieved a level of civilization. Based on evidence from xenoanthopologists from as far back as 2680, the earliest evidence of Kig Yar civilization was after a massive change in evolution grounded the species permenantly. Why this happened was not entirely certain, but whatever the reasons, it forced a new series of changes on the species. The general structure of a Kig Yar shows that the species as a whole are bipeds thats tand on a set of claws. Based on the structure of the claws themselves, it can be assumed that the species is is digitigrade, in which only the tips of the feet are walked upon, and the 'heel' is located further up the limb. This allows a Kig Yar to gain excellent speed as it moves about - moreso for Skirmishers, who can achieve a higher top speed than base Kig Yar, at the expense of being much more brittle. The Kig Yar bone structure shows some of their avian evolutionary roots. Kig Yar bone structure shows that the marrow is significantly less dense than other species, which may be a sign of the fact that they were once a flying species. To make up for this, over time, Kig Yar bones grew denser. While today they are much denser than before, the signs of their past are there. Kig Yar possess a hand with two thumbs and a single index finger. This simple setup allows Jackals to manipulate many forms of technology, from levers to firearms. Their arms are incredibly muscular with overlapping tissue structures which, when contracted, allows the Kig Yar to form a protective muscle shield that can absorb blunt impact. This helps make up for weaker bones. The Kig Yar have two sexes - Male and Female. Males are defined by their more muscular structure. They are much more angled and rugged. Males possess a quick identifier in the form of a plume that grows on the top of their head. This plume can also be a form of emotional identifier. While Kig Yar males do furrow their brow in anger or raise them in surprise, the plume can also move in accordance to these emotions, folding when angry, or raising in surprise. In addition to these, males also have similar plumes on their forearms which move in accordance to their emotions. Females on the other hand have a more slender build. They do not possess the plume as males do, instead forming callouses on the forearm and head. Females also tend to have higher pitched voices than males do, and often engage in mating rituals with the males. Kig Yar mating is focused around fertilization determining gender. While Kig Yar females are capable of producing an egg on their own, fertilization from the male will ensure that a male Kig Yar is born. Unfertilized eggs produce female offspring. Because of this procedure, there is a higher ratio of Kig Yar women to men in the society. Kig Yar blood is bright purple. The reason for this is believed to be the chemical makeup of Eayn itself. The color of the blood is similar to that of the Sangheili. The similarity is believed to be coincidental. Kig Yar blood contains a high amount of hemoglobin, which produces a bright red color in Human beings, but Kig Yar blood may also have high copper content in their bloodstream, which when combined produces a purple color when exposed to air. Kig Yar mouths contain a total of forty teeth, with twenty on the top and bottom. The arrangements of these teeth lets the jaw close into an interlocking pattern. Kig Yar produce three sets of teeth during their lifetime - infant, adolescent, and adult. Teeth progressively get sharper through the stages. It is not uncommon for adult Kig Yar to retain their infant teeth if they take proper care of their mouths. Culture Kig Yar culture is deeply rooted in maritime tradition. During the past, and even today, Kig Yar have been sailing the oceans of Eayn for thousands of miles between the continents. Growing up before the advent of spaceflight, Kig Yar ships were commonly made by the sailor themselves. This way, nobody else could be to blame should there be something wrong. When ships with large crews became common, the chief shipwright became the person whose responsibility it was to keep their ships running. To these Kig Yar, sailing was the true calling for their people. They wanted to travel, and they could go anywhere they wanted. However, as it always is, there are those that abuse the system. With the advent of sea travel on Eayn, piracy was also on the rise, This began the second most cherished Kig Yar tradition. Pirates plundered many ships on established trading routes. Pirates celebrated their success at the expense of others. Cultures all over Eayn romanticized it as the true life for an up and coming Kig Yar even though governments did what they could to stamp out privateering. Despite the attacks, trading is first and foremost the thing that all Kig Yar look forward to when going on a long voyage. A common saying on Eayn is 'There is always something to part one away from his gold'. Kig Yar markets expanded to gigantic sizes in cities that went on for miles in the streets. Millions of people would bargain and trade; buying and selling any sort of item that they could possibly want. This made many Kig Yar rich indeed. They then used their money to acquire more goods from far away lands. Eventually the clans of the Kig Yar united and worked towards the betterment of space travel. The first major goal that the Kig Yar was to colonize the area around Chu'ot. Multiple moons were settled by small groups of the race. However, even in space, piracy continued, though the Kig Yar needed to change their tactics in the void. Pirates commonly masquerade as official ships in order to get close to merchants, usually transmitting phony identification to lull the mark into a false sense of security before striking, usually keeping the crew of their target ship alive whie stripping the vessel of any valuables. Only very rarely do pirates kill the crew of their mark. This gave rise to an unwritten code of 'honor among theives', which no Kig Yar pirate dare break. similar to pirates on Earth during the Age of Sail. In space, the Kig Yar's merchant and bargaining traditions followed as well. There was an emphasis on making their ships cheap enough for money to remain afterwards, but there was also an emphasis on making the ships safe enough not to buckle in space. This meant that over time, ships became more and more ramshackle because Kig Yar wanted to create the cheapest ship they could, while at the same time create a ship that could stand up in an attack. This led other species to regard them with curiosity in comparison to other better-designed ships. In 1342, the Kig Yar were drafted into the Covenant military machine. At first, the Kig Yar were unable to defend themselves against these new aliens, but the tides seemed to turn in their favor when the pirates that the clans persecuted turned to defend their homeworld. The pirates, being experts in using hit and run tactics against other ships, attempted to fight off the Covenant vessels by using asteroids, and the moons of Chu'ot as cover. However, despite their best efforts, the Covenant's numbers were too large, and the Kig Yar yielded, awaiting their fate. The Covenant leaders though were impressed by the pirates ability to fight, and offered them a place in the Covenant using a document that is known in English as the Letters of Marque. These letters allowed the Kig Yar to operate as privateers for the Covenant, doing as they please so long as it did not upset the greater organization. Category:Species Category:Alien